Gianluigi Buffon resigned as FIGC national team delegation chief on 2 April, hours after Gabriele Gravina stepped down from the federation presidency in the wake of the World Cup play-off defeat . 'It's only fair to leave to those who come after me the freedom of selecting who will replace me,' Buffon told reporters 1. The framing was deliberate: a synchronised departure with the political event that triggered Gravina's exit, and an explicit invitation to the next president to choose their own staff.
Buffon's role had given him operational responsibility for the Azzurri's competitive logistics since his appointment after retirement from playing. The post sits at the seam between the federation's executive and the head coach's setup; the synchronisation of his exit with the presidency change removes any ambiguity about whether the two roles travel together.
The departure also clears space for the next FIGC president on a question that would otherwise have followed them into office. Whoever wins the 22 June Federal Council vote inherits a delegation chief role open by their predecessor's choice, not by their own removal of an incumbent. That is a smaller political fight than the one Buffon's continuation would have produced. Italian outlets describe head coach Gennaro Gattuso's position as also unstable, which suggests the president-elect will be staffing the national team setup from scratch, rather than negotiating around inherited appointments.
